ACL Hall of Fame icon Bonnie Raitt returns to Austin City Limits (ACL) for the first time in a decade in a sterling hour with a selection of time tested favorites as well as highlights from her triple 2023 Grammy-winning album Just Like That… The new episode premieres Saturday, February 24 at 7pm CT/8pm ET as part of the series Season 49. ACL airs weekly on PBS stations nationwide (check local listings) and full episodes are made available to stream online at pbs.org/austincitylimits immediately following the initial broadcast. The show’s official hashtag is #acltv. 2024 marks the 50th Anniversary of the revered music institution, which continues its extraordinary run as the longest-running music television show in history, providing viewers a front-row seat to the best in live performance for an incredible five decades. A monument to music, ACL has showcased iconic performances from legends and innovators in every genre of popular song for 50 years. Produced by Austin PBS, and recorded live at ACL’s studio home ACL Live in Austin, Texas, the show remains a required stopping point for the finest acts to deliver stellar performances from the venerable ACL stage. On October 17, 1974, Willie Nelson taped the pilot episode; the trailblazing series then premiered on PBS in 1975. This Peabody Award-winning program has earned its place in history and will salute its golden anniversary and incredible legacy with a yearlong celebration featuring archival gems, fan activations, all-star tapings, a PBS special, live concerts and much more.
On the eve of Austin City Limits’ 50th Anniversary, blues, rock and soul maestro Bonnie Raitt, a thirteen-time Grammy-winner, makes ACL history once again with highlights from her remarkable five-decade career. Raitt first-appeared on the series during Season 9 in 1984, has returned throughout the decades, and, in 2016, was inducted into the ACL Hall of Fame. For this golden occasion, the American original brings her best to the Austin stage in a magnetic set filled with numbers from her celebrated 2022 album Just Like That…, sharing stories behind her latest work alongside career highlights. She opens with a Grammy-winner, the slowburn “Made Up Mind,” 2023’s Best Americana Performance, captivating with her sultry slide guitar turns. In great voice and with her stinging fretwork as potent as ever, Raitt revisits her landmark 1991 album Luck of the Draw for the blues-rocking “No Business.” She brings the house down with her soulful vocals on the heartbreaking “Blame It On Me,” a stunner she shares is her favorite song from her latest album, grinning “I always say if we got along, I wouldn’t have anything to sing about.”
The devoted social activist welcomes a special guest, Nashville-based singer/guitarist Sunny War to join her for a bluesy, acoustic rendering of Jackson Browne’s socially charged “World in Motion.” Sitting at the keyboards, Raitt reveals “I’ve been wanting to sing this for Austin City Limits for a while,” as she leads into the self-penned title track of her 1989 breakthrough Nick of Time. “I ain’t afraid of getting older,” smiles Raitt, as she prefaces the fan-favorite on the passage of time. “Just dig the ride, baby.” She displays her powerhouse chops with a medley of Rufus & Chaka Khan’s 1974 devilishly funky “You Got the Love” effortlessly joined with her irresistible 1991 hit “Love Sneakin’ Up On You.” Raitt credits her ace, four-piece band (bassist Hutch Hutchinson, drummer Ricky Fataar, keyboardist Glenn Patscha, and guitarist Duke Levine plus guitarist emeritus, George Marinelli) throughout the performance, referencing the “bunch of soulful guys I got up here.”
In a set highlight, she dedicates the 2023 Grammy-winning Song of the Year “Just Like That,” to her longtime friend John Prine. “When we lost John it just pierced me so deep…This is a song I wrote inspired by singing ‘Angel From Montgomery’ every night,” she notes, referencing the beloved Prine-penned song, which she and the iconic songwriter memorably performed together during ACL’s Season 28 in 2002. She closes out the epic, 10-song set with a shuffle blues classic, a steamy cover of B.B. King’s “Never Make Your Move Too Soon,” in honor of “one of the greatest blues towns in America—Austin, Texas!”
“After 50 years, Bonnie Raitt continues to amaze and to reach new heights as an artist and songwriter,” said Austin City Limits executive producer Terry Lickona. “She’s been an important part of the ACL story since our early days, and every time she returns, it seems to mark a new chapter for her and us. This is Bonnie at her best!”
Bonnie Raitt setlist:
Made Up Mind
No Business
Blame It On Me
World In Motion
Livin’ For the Ones
Nick Of Time
Have A Heart
You Got The Love/Love Sneakin’ Up On You
Just Like That
Never Make Your Move Too Soon
Season 49 Broadcast Schedule (upcoming):
February 24 Bonnie Raitt
March 2 Austin City Limits 9th Annual Hall of Fame Honors Trisha Yearwood
Watch new episodes live, stream online, or download the PBS App. Viewers can visit acltv.com for news regarding upcoming Season 50 tapings, live streams and episode schedules or by following ACL on Facebook, Twitter, IG and TikTok. Fans can also browse the ACL YouTube channel for exclusive songs, behind-the-scenes videos and full-length artist interviews.
Austin City Limits
Austin City Limits (ACL) offers viewers unparalleled access to featured acts in an intimate setting that provides a platform for artists to deliver inspired, memorable, full-length performances. Now in its 49th Season, the program is taped live before a concert audience from The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. Austin City Limits is the longest-running music series in television history and remains the only TV series to ever be awarded the National Medal of Arts. Since its inception, the groundbreaking music series has become an institution that’s helped secure Austin’s reputation as the Live Music Capital of the World. The historic Austin PBS Studio 6A, home to 36 years of ACL concerts, has been designated an official Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Landmark. In 2011, ACL moved to the new venue ACL Live at The Moody Theater in downtown Austin. ACL received a rare institutional Peabody Award for excellence and outstanding achievement in 2012. ACL celebrates 50 years as an American music institution in 2024.
Austin City Limits is produced by Austin PBS and funding is provided in part by Dell Technologies, the Austin Convention Center Department, Cirrus Logic and AXS Ticketing. Additional funding is provided by the Friends of Austin City Limits. Learn more about Austin City Limits, programming and history at acltv.com.